A native of the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts, there has never been a time that music has not played an important role in my life. Somewhere along the way, my parents bought me my first guitar and I thought for sure that I was Elvis himself. I couldn’t play a lick, but thoroughly enjoyed entertaining family and my big sister Sandie's friends at any opportunity that presented itself.The other great love of my youth was baseball. I was a pitcher and even got invited to join the Montreal Expo’s in spring training twice~when I had an arm! The love of my life and best friend for all of these years has been my wife, Linda. I love her today more than ever and she is the inspiration that keeps me writing and reaching for my and our dreams. We had a pretty tough time financially in the early years of our marriage, but through a lot of hard work and perseverance, we finally saw daylight. We have been blessed with a wonderful son, Patrick who is the real musician of the family and a very talented writer.My wife and I have been running and growing our own new car dealership in Vermont for many years. I wrote a few songs along the way, but never had enough time to devote to it and develop my craft. However, the itch to one day write music full time was always waiting impatiently in my heart.On June 21, 2000, my life changed forever when my brother, Jack died suddenly. Older than myself, we had grown very close in the years proceeding his death. Linda and I had visited with him the previous weekend. We always hear people telling us, “life is short.†For whatever the reason, that statement never had the impact on me that it has since.As they say, "the Lord works in mysterious ways." That event forced me to take a real close look at my life. I had read about what Tony Robbins refers to as the “rocking chair†test and so I tried it. I envisioned myself lucky enough to live to a ripe old age and sitting back in my rocking chair. I asked myself, “what is the one thing that I wish I had accomplished in my life? What God given gifts did I not use to their fullest?†The answer for me was easy. Music. Specifically, songwriting. Over the past 15 years or so, I have gained a true love and respect for Country Music. And so the journey began.I have witnessed time and again in my life how God has a way of bringing us together with certain people at just the right moment. What a wonderful gift that is. In my case, regarding songwriting, it was Bucky Jones. Bucky along with his wife, Becky and their two children, had moved to Vermont and were customers at our car dealership. Bucky had written eight number one hits ("In A Different Light") and 25 top ten songs during his illustrious career in Nashville. We began a friendship, yet I was either too embarrassed or otherwise reluctant to share with him that I had such a compelling interest in writing music.A few years ago I finally found the nerve to ask Bucky to listen to some of my stuff. I guess he noticed something in either my desire or ability and we began writing a few songs together the following spring. We have since written many songs together. I liken my opportunity to a kid who has a chance to play catch with a pro ballplayer. It is not something that you will ever forget or take for granted.I can never thank Bucky enough for his friendship and mentoring. I cherish the days that we have spent writing, laughing, reminiscing and sharing our life stories. Hopefully, there is a lot more to come. We recently got our first cuts in Nashville and I cannot tell you how exciting that has been.Also, many thanks to Lamon Records, Deb Foster and Bruce Allen Music for being the first ones to believe in my songs. I am forever grateful.
In October of 2007, our son, Patrick took over the reins at our new car dealership in Vermont and is doing an incredible job. For the most part I am now living my dream and writing full time. This gives me more time to continue to drive my friends and family nuts while I bombard them with emails asking them to listen to my new tunes! It’s been an incredible ride and looking back I wouldn’t trade the hard times for anything. That is when I’ve learned the most about myself and life. I can’t wait to see what’s around the next bend. Yours in music, Finnegan
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